


Little bit of love

by UniqueSmallTreasures



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, I will take that headcanon to the grave, Marichat, This is shameless Marichat, so much fluff but also angst, spoilers for Glaciator, this is the episode where Marinette realizes that she has feelings for Chat Noir
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-14
Updated: 2018-01-14
Packaged: 2019-03-04 18:19:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13370439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UniqueSmallTreasures/pseuds/UniqueSmallTreasures
Summary: A missing scene from the episode Glaciator (season 2 episode 9). Marinette tries to sort her thoughts and feelings, unable to sleep. She shouldn't be surprised that it's exactly the time Chat Noir decided to visit her.





	Little bit of love

**Author's Note:**

> My MariChat heart had to write this. Spoilers for the newest episode (Glaciator)  
> For the full experience, I recommend listening to this while reading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WC37CaXrbTc

Marinette was curled on her side in her bed, clutching a pillow to her chest, tempted to push her face against it and scream. She swore she could feel the faint, sweet smell of the rose that was now on her desk and that she still could feel the pressure against her cheek. The cheek that Chat Noir kissed softly. 

It was confusing, to say the least. The whole day felt surreal to her. Her emotions were all over the place, but this time she was not thinking about her disappointment of not seeing Adrien. No, this time she only could focus on a soft, understanding smile Chat Noir offered her before leaning close and kissing her cheek.

She kissed people’s cheeks all the time! It shouldn’t be a big deal that this time it was her cheek that had been kissed. It shouldn’t have left her a blushing mess, wishing to spend more time with Chat. It shouldn’t have made her so confused about her reaction to the kiss – especially since she was fine with offering him a kiss on his cheek earlier.

And she desperately didn’t want to replay over and over again the other kiss they shared, back when she was pinned to the ground and was the one who made him melt against her, breaking the hate spell. Nope, Marinette was not thinking about the feel of Chat’s lips and how soft they always felt over her skin… 

She straightened abruptly, a quiet whine escaping her lips, careful not to disturb Tikki during her sleep. It seemed like Marinette was going to always go through emotional turmoils because of sweet blond boys. The thought made her wince, pushing the pillow away from her before sitting up, her shoulders slumped. She glanced at the photos next to her bed, looking at Adrien’s face guiltily. 

She was sure of her feelings for him. She was so in love with him, that even if he didn’t return her feelings, she was okay with that, as long as he would still be in her life. Marinette didn’t even feel bitter about the fact that their triple-date was a disaster because he hadn’t shown up, but because the only thing that thought provoked in her, was the fact, that at the same time she was waiting for Adrien, Chat had been waiting for Ladybug. 

Her heart sped up as her thoughts raced through her head. She wanted to sprawl her fingers all over the picture of Adrien, just as she had done it earlier that day, but her hand just hovered above it hesitatingly. Her eyes glanced to the side, finding a picture of Ladybug and Chat Noir. Her breath hitched at the familiar grin Chat was directing at the camera. 

Screwing her eyes shut, Marinette sighed and pushed herself up, deciding to get some fresh air, pulling a blanket around her so the colder air wouldn’t bother her. She wasn’t having any luck getting any sleep, she might at least take in the sights of the beautiful Parisian night. Maybe it would help her settle her feelings somehow.

For a moment it worked. Standing in the middle of the balcony, free of the scent of the rose, she could breathe deeply. Her eyes looked up at the stars and she smiled fondly. This was fine. No boys in her thoughts, just the quiet and familiar night sky.

It shouldn’t have surprised her, that the moment she put her elbows on the balcony's railings, her thoughts turned back to Chat Noir. Of course, they did, earlier he was sitting in this exact spot where she was currently standing. And as much as Marinette wished to forget it, she couldn’t just go back to normalcy after his confession, both to Marinette and Ladybug. She tried to wrap her head around it, thinking about their interactions and seeing Chat’s behaviour in a new light.

That time he hugged her after Animan? He must have been so scared, maybe as much as when Volpina had pretended to throw Adrien from the Eiffel Tower. The extent of his hatred when they were fighting Dark Cupid? It should have been obvious to her that it reflected his feelings for her. She felt so foolish for not noticing all the clues earlier. 

The soft thump behind her made her spin around, startled, a squeak forming in her throat. She groaned inwardly seeing Chat once again on her balcony, crunched like a literal cat, his tail swaying behind him. Marinette’s heart skipped a beat and the groan in her head turned into a scream. She was not ready for this. 

She would be never ready for this. 

He loved her. He loved her and she-

“Good evening Princess!” Chat was wearing a wide grin and Marinette hoped her cheeks weren’t painted in red. She offered a stiff giggle and a wave, her other hand curled over her heart, holding the blanket in place, pressing the hand almost painfully against her chest. Her stupid heart couldn’t calm down and it wasn’t making any sense because this was Chat and she didn’t get flustered by him! Never! 

Chat was totally unaware of the somersaults Marinette’s heart was doing at the sight of him and continued talking. “She knows!”

“What?” Marinette’s high pitched voice made her flinch, but Chat only chuckled, his voice warm and happy. She was only further confused by his attitude, not sure what he was talking about. So she did what she hoped would help her get through this and channeled her inner Ladybug. She straightened her back, her eyes a tad more narrowed as she considered him. “What are you doing here, Chat Noir?” she managed to ask and regretted it immediately.

Chat’s ears flattened, the tail stilling mid-sway. His shoulders tensed and his eyes looked away from Marinette. He made a humming sound as if he was trying to find the right words. It made Marinette approach him, her hand going to his elbow before she could even think about the gesture. She had to comfort him because it hurt her to see him like this. For heaven’s sake, he loved her and she-

She was being an idiot about it.

“Hey,” Marinette said gently, waiting for Chat’s eyes to catch hers, offering him a smile, “You’re not unwelcome, you know? I’m just surprised to see you again.” She cleared her throat and tried to mimic his flirtatious tone that she knew so well, “To what I owe this pleasure of seeing you again?”

She felt relief flooding through her as Chat relaxed, a sheepish grin getting back on his face. One of his hands, the one which wouldn’t be constricted by Marinette’s gentle touch, went to the back of his head, ruffling his hair at the back of his neck. 

“Um yeah, sorry. I just saw you and wanted to share the good news, but I didn’t think it through, obviously, and maybe you didn’t want to see me, so-”

“Chat,” she interrupted him gently, her hand squeezing his arm before letting go, finally realizing she was touching him. “It’s truly okay. What did you want to tell me?”

“She knows!”

Logically, she should have known what he was talking about. But at the moment, she could only tilt her head in confusion, staring at Chat quizzically. His good mood was back and that was so endearing, she couldn’t focus on anything else. He shifted in his pose, sitting on the railing he was perched against, his legs dangling in front of him, but not touching Marinette. If she looked down, she would see how close she was standing to him, almost between his knees and that if she made one more step towards him, she could hug him without any problem. The realization about their closeness was at the back of her head, but she didn’t care, not when she could see the happiness radiating from him, pulling her in. 

The shit-eating grin was not leaving Chat’s face and his eyes sparkled in the dim light, reminding Marinette of the moment he was close to her and kissed her cheek. The thought made her gasp, a blush colouring her cheeks. Her eyes glanced down and she finally realized she was standing in between his legs, so she snapped her head back up, her eyes widening. Chat must have thought that Marinette understood his words and nodded excitedly. 

“She knows and she’s okay with it!”, he continued, as Marinette’s internal scream wanted to escape her throat, finally catching the meaning of his words. Chat still acted oblivious. “And you know what’s best?”

She truly didn’t. She opened her mouth, but closed it with a snap a moment later, knowing that she couldn’t form words at the moment. She was capable of making loud whining noises, but she wasn’t sure Chat would be able to understand her. She shook her head instead. 

Chat’s smile widened to the point his eyes half-closed. “Nothing changed! We’re still best friends!”

Marinette’s heart clenched. She could hear that Chat Noir was talking further, this time explaining in details what had happened, but she was able to just catch few of his words, her own thoughts spinning around her head, as her heart beat loudly under her hand. She got him all wrong. Somehow she had missed all the sweetness and kindness and innocence this boy had in him. It was as if she was blindsided with all the puns and flirting and overall friendliness of Chat Noir and didn’t notice the boy who was under that mask with his own feelings. The realization was shocking her into a stunned silence. 

“I don’t have that many friends,” Chat admitted and the sentence made Marinette focus on his words once more, “So I am so happy that she doesn’t think less of me and she’s okay with my feelings and maybe… Maybe it’s okay for me to not lose hope.” His voice grew softer and his eyes looked down as if there was something interesting about his boots and he had to examine them right this instant. “I heard friendship is just another form of love. So it’s okay. I’m so glad that…” he paused and shook his head. “It’s the second-best outcome.”

She could cry. She felt her eyes filling up with tears, but she had to shake her head to remind herself that she couldn’t make him wonder why she was getting emotional about this. This was important, he was important. 

“Yeah, it is,” she offered, glad that her voice was steady and calm. He glanced up at her, his lips still curled in a soft, almost shy smile, before she noticed that he was back to being nervous. He fidgeted, one of his hands reaching to his back where he had his baton. It made her scared that he was leaving already. She didn’t want him to leave. She wasn’t sure what she wanted, but she was sure she would figure it out in a moment, so if he could just-  


But Chat wasn’t leaving.

Marinette felt like she was having an out of body experience. She watched Chat Noir’s hand coming back and straightening, reaching towards her, a red rose between his clawed fingers. It was held gently and without thinking Marinette reached for the flower, wondering if it would carry the same scent the rose in her room did. 

It was the second time she accepted a rose from him. She wasn’t sure what to do with that bit of information her brain supplied her with.

Marinette closed her eyes as she brought the rose up to her nose, inhaling and smiling at the familiarity of the scent. When her eyelids fluttered up, she saw Chat offering her a gentle smile, one she wasn’t used to seeing on his face. Her heart traitorously sped up and her cheeks tinted red once again. 

“Thank you for today, it meant a lot that I could talk to you.” Chat shrugged, suddenly looking unsure and self-conscious. “Red suits you,” he waved his hand vaguely in her direction before retrieving his baton from behind him. 

That had meant he was preparing to leave. Marinette knew she had few more seconds with him, as she watched him bid her goodbye with a friendly wave. His baton extended and Chat straightened, spinning around on the heel of one of his feet, all cat-like grace. Before he could make his first jump, Marinette finally found her voice. 

“I think of you as a friend too!”

She wasn’t sure if that’s something Chat wanted to hear. She wasn’t sure if he wouldn’t laugh at her or think she was crazy. She was a civilian and had only a few encounters with him. It was only her luck, which made him step onto her balcony that day, she was sure of it. But still, she wouldn’t take the words back, never. 

“Is that okay?” she still had to ask, because Chat was glancing at her over his shoulder, eyes widened in surprise before they blinked rapidly. 

The laugh that escaped his lips broke her. Suddenly she remembered rain and an umbrella closing around her head. She remembered another shade of green eyes glancing at her in mirth, but the smile was so familiar, she felt the ground between her legs opening and swallowing her whole. 

Marinette knew what the warmth in her body meant. She tried to think that she’s just projecting her feelings onto Chat, that’s it’s the familiarity of the laugh. Because that had to be it. Her heartbeat was the same as when she was looking at Adrien when his focus was only on her. Her stomach clenched in the same fashion, half excited, half worried. She knew the feeling which overwhelmed her and she wanted to hide behind the rose pressed to her lips, her mouth forming a thin line. This shouldn’t be happening. 

“I think the same,” Chat replied when his laughter subsided. He offered her a salute and finally got off her balcony, the laughter still ringing in Marinette’s ears. 

She was a mess. She watched him go, not understanding what was happening, not sure of anything at all, confused by her own feelings. He couldn’t be Adrien. She refused to let that thought take place in her head. This wasn’t fair to anyone and surely not to Chat. Almost on auto-pilot, screaming inside her head, Marinette returned to her room to put the rose in water, next to the other one. Tikki was still sleeping soundly in a pile of fabrics next to the vase holding the flowers and Marinette felt guilty because, in a moment, she would wake her kwami. 

She climbed the stairs to her bed, shaking hands reaching for her pillow, the blanket finally falling from her shoulders. She pressed her face into the fabric and after a heartbeat, screamed into the pillow, alerting Tikki, who flew to her side, expressing her worry over her charge. 

Marinette wasn’t sure how to tell her that she fell in love with Chat Noir.


End file.
